1. Constancy of purpose

Create constancy of purpose for continual improvement of product and service, allocating resources to provide for long-range needs rather than short-term profitability, with a plan to become competitive, to stay in business, and to provide jobs.

2. The new philosophy

Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age, created in Japan. We can no longer live with commonly-accepted levels of delays, mistakes, defective materials, and defective workmanship. Transformation of Western management style is necessary to halt the continued decline of industry .

3. Cease dependence on inspection

Eliminate the need for mass inspection as a way to achieve quality by building quality into the product in the first place. Require statistical evidence of built-in quality in both manufacturing and purchasing functions.

4. End “lowest tender” contracts

End the practice of awarding business solely on the basis of price tag. Instead, require meaningful measures of quality along with price. Reduce the number of suppliers for the same item by eliminating those that do not qualify with statistical evidence of quality. Move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust. The aim is to minimise total cost, not merely initial cost. Purchasing managers have a new job, and must learn it.

5. Improve every process

Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production, and service. Search continually for problems in order to improve every activity in the company, to improve quality and productivity and thus to constantly decrease costs. It is management’s job to work continually on the system (design, in-coming materials, maintenance, improvement of machines, training, supervision, retraining.

6. Institute training on the job

Institute modern methods of training on the job for all, including management, to make better use of every employee. New skills are required to keep up with changes in materials, methods, product design, machinery, techniques, and service.

7. Institute leadership

Adopt and institute leadership aimed at helping people to do a better job. The responsibility of managers and supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality. Improvement of quality will automatically improve productivity. Management must ensure that immediate action is taken on reports of inherited defects, maintenance requirements, poor tools, fuzzy operational definitions, and other conditions detrimental to quality.

8. Drive out fear

Encourage effective two-way communication and other means to drive out fear throughout the organization so that everybody may work effectively and more productively for the company.

9. Break down barriers

Break down barriers between departments and staff areas. People in different areas such as research, design, sales, administration, and production must work in teams to tackle problems that may be encountered with products or service.

10. Eliminate exhortations

Eliminate the use of slogans, posters, and exhortations for the workforce, demanding zero defects and new levels of productivity, without providing methods. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships; the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system, and thus lie beyond the power of the workforce.

11. Eliminate arbitrary numerical targets

Eliminate work standards that prescribe numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for people in management. Substitute aids and helpful leadership; use statistical methods for continual improvement of quality and productivity.

12. Permit pride of workmanship

Remove the barriers that rob hourly workers, and people in management, of their rite to pride of workmanship. This implies, inter alia, abolition of the annual merit rating (appraisal of performance) and of management by objective. Again, the responsibility of managers, supervisors, foremen, must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.

13. Encourage education

Institute a vigorous programme of education, and encourage self-improvement for everyone. What an organization needs is not just good people; it needs people that are improving with education. Advances in competitive position will have their roots in knowledge.

14. Top management’s commitment

Clearly define Top Management’s commitment to ever improving quality and productivity, and their obligations to implement all of these principles. Indeed, it is not enough that top management commit themselves for life to quality and productivity. They must know what it is they are committed to, that is, what they must do. Create a structure in top management that will push every day on the preceding 13 Points, and take action in order to accomplish the transformation. Support is not enough, action is required.